JPH0454155B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] a. Industrial Application Field The present invention relates to an automatic ice making machine, and in particular, a liquid level control device in a sub-tank connected to an ice making water tank for controlling the liquid level height in the ice making water tank. The present invention relates to an automatic ice making machine equipped with a control device.

b. Prior art No. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of a liquid level control device (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 61-62908) that the present applicant has already proposed, in which ice-making water is stored in an ice-making water tank 1. There is. An ice making section 3 for producing ice 2 is provided above the ice making water tank 1. The ice making section 3 includes an ice making plate 4
and an evaporator 5 attached to the back side of the ice-making plate 4. Directly below the ice making plate 4, a guide plate 6 is provided to guide the ice 2 to the ice storage. A plurality of holes 7 are formed in the guide plate 6, and ice-making water is guided into the ice-making water tank 1 through the holes 7. A circulation pump 8 is connected to the ice-making water tank 1, and the circulation pump 8 supplies ice-making water in the ice-making water tank 1 to a first water sprinkling section 10 provided above the ice-making plate 4 via a circulation pipe 9. be done. On the back side of the ice making plate 4, the ice making water from the water valve 11 is fed to the ice making plate 4.
A second water sprinkling section 12 is provided to cause water to flow down along the back surface of the water spraying section.

The ice-making water tank 1 is a sub-tank 13 shown in FIG.
It is in fluid communication with the connecting pipe 19. A float device 14 is provided in the sub-tank 13 as a liquid level control device for controlling the liquid level of ice-making water in the ice-making water tank 1 . The float device 14 includes a float 15 that is displaced according to the vertical movement of the liquid level;
A magnet 16 attached to the upper end of the float 15, a guide section 17 that guides the vertical movement of the float 15, and a magnet 1 provided within the guide section 17.
The reed switch 18 is activated when the reed switch 6 approaches the reed switch 18. A communicating body 20 is provided in the sub-tank 13 with its tip facing into the sub-tank 13. Like the ice-making water tank 1, the communicating body 20 is open to the atmosphere from above, and the liquid level in the ice-making water tank 1 and that in the communicating body 20 are the same due to the principle of a communicating pipe. Further, a closed chamber 21 is formed in the sub-tank 13 by the rise in the liquid level in the ice-making water tank 1, and the position of the closed chamber 21 is determined by the tip of the communication body 20. Note that the reference numeral 22 in FIG. 6 indicates an overflow pipe, and this overflow pipe 2
2 gives the maximum liquid level height in the ice making water tank 1.

Next, the operation of the conventional automatic ice maker configured as described above will be explained. During the ice-making cycle, the compressor 35 and the fan 24 of the condenser 23 shown in FIG. 10 are operated, and the refrigerant whose pressure is reduced in the capillary 25 is evaporated in the evaporator 5, and the evaporator 5 is cooled by the latent heat of evaporation.

On the other hand, ice-making water sprinkled from the first water spraying section 10 by the operation of the circulation pump 8 flows down onto the surface of the ice-making plate 4, and during the flow, the ice-making water exchanges heat with the refrigerant in the evaporator 5 and is cooled. Ru. The cooled ice-making water returns to the ice-making water tank 1 through the hole 7 of the guide plate 6, is sent again to the first water sprinkling section 10, and is cooled on the ice-making plate 4. In this way, the ice making water is gradually cooled and ice 2 is gradually generated on the surface of the ice making plate 4.
Along with this, the liquid level in the ice-making water tank 1 also gradually decreases.

As ice 2 continues to form and the liquid level in the communication body 20 becomes lower than the tip and the sealed chamber 21 is opened to the atmosphere, the float 15 descends to match the liquid level in the ice making water tank 1. Start. When the formation of ice 2 progresses further and ice 2 of the desired size is obtained on the ice making plate 4, the magnet 16 turns on the reed switch 1.
8 is activated, and a signal indicating the completion of ice making is issued from the float device 14.

As soon as the ice making completion signal is given, fan 2
4. The operation of the circulation pump 8 is stopped, the hot gas valve 26 is opened, hot gas flows into the evaporator 5, and the deicing cycle begins. At the same time, the water valve 11 is also opened, and ice-making water is sprayed onto the back surface of the ice-making plate 4 from the second water sprinkling section 12. This ice making water and evaporator 5
The contact surface of the ice 2 with the ice-making plate 4 is melted by the hot gas flowing through the ice-making plate 4.

The ice-making water from the second sprinkler section 12 is then supplied into the ice-making water tank 1 through the hole 7 of the guide plate 6. Therefore, the ice-making water remaining in the ice-making water tank 1 when the ice-making cycle is completed is removed from the sub-tank 1.
3, and a sealed chamber 21 is formed in the upper space within the sub tank 13. Subsequently, as the water spraying from the second water spraying section 12 progresses to the back side of the ice-making plate 4, the liquid level of the ice-making water in the ice-making water tank 1 rises, and the liquid level rises to the level of the ice-making water in the overflow pipe 2.
After reaching the upper end surface of 2, a constant liquid level height is maintained by the action of the overflow pipe 22 beyond that point.

When the ice 2 melts further and the contact surface of the ice 2 with the ice making plate 4 is completely melted, the ice 2 separates from the ice making plate 4, passes through the guide plate 6, and is stored in an ice storage (not shown). be done. Then, a de-icing detector (not shown) detects the detachment of the ice 2 from the ice-making plate 4, and in response to a signal from the de-icing detector, the water valve 11 and the hot gas valve 26 are closed, and the circulation pump 8 is turned on again. The ice making cycle described above is started.

By the way, ice-making water has the property that ice-making water with impurities is difficult to freeze, and the more pure ice-making water is, the more easily it freezes, so as ice 2 is produced, the ice-making water in ice-making water tank 1 becomes ice-making water with many impurities. . Then, at the completion of the ice-making cycle, the concentration of impurities is the highest, and in some cases, the impurities settle and accumulate on the bottom of the ice-making water tank 1. Then, the impurities are pushed into the sub-tank 13 by the ice-making water sprayed from the second water sprinkling section 12 at the same time as the start of the de-icing cycle. Therefore, sub tank 1
Ice-making water with a high concentration of impurities is supplied to the container 3, and its non-fluidity prevents the impurities from settling.
Accumulation occurs. As a result, due to the impurities, the float 15 does not descend to a predetermined position upon completion of ice making, resulting in an inconvenience in that the float device 14 does not issue a signal indicating completion of ice making.

The present applicant has already filed an application for an automatic ice maker to eliminate such inconveniences (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 1983-1999).
(See Publication No. 291876). Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of its configuration.
FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of the main part of FIG. 8, and one end of the water valve 11 is connected to a tap water source, and the other end is connected to a branch pipe 27 that opens in three directions. The T-shaped branch pipe 27 is a main pipe part 31 connected to the water valve 11 and the second water spray part 12 via pipes 28 and 29, respectively.
and an auxiliary pipe section 32 connected to a drain pipe 30 connected to the communication body 20. A branch hole 33 is formed in the main pipe portion 31 for guiding ice-making water from the water valve 11 to the drain pipe 30. An air hole 34 is formed in the auxiliary pipe portion 32 to prevent ice-making water from remaining in the drain pipe 30 when the water valve 11 is closed after the deicing cycle is completed.

In the automatic ice maker configured as described above, when the ice making cycle is completed, the water valve 11
When the ice-making water is opened and enters the de-icing cycle in which ice-making water is sprinkled from the second water sprinkling section 12 onto the back surface of the ice-making plate 4, a portion of the ice-making water flows into the sub-tank 13 through the sub-pipe section 32 and the drain pipe 30. As a result, the settled and accumulated impurities in the sub-tank 13 are pushed out into the ice-making water tank 1.

c Problems to be Solved by the Invention In the conventional automatic ice making machine configured as described above, the settled and accumulated impurities in the sub tank 13 are removed by the ice making water flowing into the sub tank 13 from the drain pipe 30. As a result of being pushed into the tank 1, the float 15 in the sub-tank 13 descends, and the float device 14 has the advantage of issuing a signal indicating the completion of ice making. However, during the deicing cycle, the amount of ice-making water continuously supplied into the sub-tank 13 is not sufficient to push out impurities into the ice-making water tank 1 due to flow resistance of the branch pipe 27, etc. As a result, the float 15 does not descend smoothly, or the impurities are pushed out into the ice-making water tank 1 so much that the amount of water drained from the overflow pipe 22 to the outside of the ice-making water tank 1 increases, resulting in an increase in the amount of ice-making water consumed. There was a problem.

This invention was made in order to solve such problems, and it is possible to remove sedimentation and accumulation of impurities in the sub-tank 13 using an appropriate amount of ice-making water. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic ice making machine in which a liquid level control device 14 can correctly detect the amount of ice.

d Means for solving the problem The automatic ice making machine according to the present invention has a sub-tank 13
A sub-tank cleaning container 36 is connected to the ice-making water tank 1 via a drain pipe 30 and located above the liquid level in the ice-making water tank 1, and a sub-tank cleaning container 36 is installed in the sub-tank cleaning container 36 to remove impurities that have settled and accumulated in the sub-tank 13 from the ice-making water. It is equipped with a siphon 37 for intermittently pushing out water into the tank 1.

e Effect In this invention, the sub-tank cleaning container 36
When the inside is full of water, the ice making water is
The water flows into the sub-tank 13 through the drain pipe 30, and the settled and accumulated impurities in the sub-tank 13 are pushed out into the ice-making water tank 1. The speed of ice-making water flowing into the sub-tank 13 is constant regardless of the speed of ice-making water supplied into the sub-tank cleaning container 36.

f Examples Examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 show one embodiment of the present invention, and the same or corresponding parts as in FIGS. 6 to 10 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

In the figure, a sub-tank cleaning container 36 having a siphon 37 inside is provided above the sub-tank 13 at the other end of a connecting pipe 40 whose one end is connected to the sub-pipe section 32 . The siphon 37 includes a discharge pipe 37a that penetrates the inside of the sub-tank cleaning container 36 and has an open upper end, and a discharge pipe 37a that is connected to the sub-tank cleaning container 36 at a certain distance from the upper end.
It is composed of a hollow introduction pipe 37b which is placed over the bottom of the pipe at a constant interval.

The sub-tank cleaning container 36 has a structure in which the cross-sectional area is wide at the bottom and narrow near the top end of the discharge pipe 37a.If the amount of water supplied into the sub-tank cleaning container 36 is constant, the sub-tank can be cleaned more easily at the top than at the bottom. The rate of rise in the water level within the container 36 is fast.
Note that the reference numeral 41 indicates an air hole 34 through which the air inside the sub-tank cleaning container 36 is removed when the inside of the connecting pipe 40 is blocked with ice-making water.

A drain pipe 30 whose one end is connected to the discharge pipe 37a connects the sub-tank 13 to the sub-tank 13.
It is placed facing towards the bottom of the. sub tank 1
The cross-sectional area of sub tank 1 is made small except for the area where the float device 14 detects the completion of ice making.
The amount of water stored in 3 is kept small. A communicating body 20 is provided on the upper surface of the sub-tank 13 and has an open port 38 at its upper end and communicates with the atmosphere. Due to this release port 38, the liquid level in the sub-tank 13 and the liquid level in the ice-making water tank 1 match, and the ice-making water from the sub-tank cleaning container 36 flows into the sub-tank 13.
When flowing into the tank, the upper part of the sub tank 13, the drain pipe 3
Air is not sealed inside the sub-tank 13 and flows smoothly from the sub-tank cleaning container 36 into the sub-tank 13. Although there is no problem in controlling the liquid level in the sub-tank 13 even if the release port 38 is located in the middle of the water pipe 30, the inflow speed from the sub-tank cleaning container 36 into the sub-tank 13 is When installed in the drain pipe 30, the air inside the drain pipe 30 escapes smoothly, so that the maximum amount is achieved.

In the automatic ice making machine configured as described above, when the water valve 11 opens and ice making water enters the deicing cycle in which ice making water is sprinkled from the second water spraying section 12 onto the back surface of the ice making plate 4, the ice making water flows into the subtank cleaning container 36. Ice-making water flows in through the pipe 28, branch pipe 27, and connecting pipe 40. And the sub-tank cleaning container 36
Only when the water level inside rises and exceeds the upper end of the discharge pipe 37a, the ice-making water passes through the discharge pipe 37a and flows into the drain pipe 30, and at the same time, the air in the upper part of the introduction pipe 37b is drawn out into the drain pipe 30. Then, the action of Siphon 37 comes into play. As a result, the ice-making water in the sub-tank cleaning container 36 flows into the sub-tank 13 through the drain pipe 30 at a predetermined speed, regardless of the speed of the ice-making water flowing into the sub-tank cleaning container 36 through the connecting pipe 40. The inflow speed at this time increases as the difference between the liquid level in the sub-tank cleaning container 36 and the liquid level in the sub-tank 13 increases, and as the air above the liquid level in the sub-tank 13 decreases.

Therefore, ice-making water flows at a high flow rate through the drain pipe 30 into the sub-tank 13 in which the ice-making water with the highest impurity concentration remains when the ice-making cycle is completed, and the impurities are pushed out into the ice-making water tank 1. It will be done. Furthermore, since the amount of water stored in the sub-tank cleaning container 36 is larger than that of the sub-tank 13, the ice-making water containing many impurities in the sub-tank 13 is replaced with almost fresh ice-making water in a short time. and,
The ice-making water pushed out from the sub-tank 13 is diluted within the ice-making water tank 1, and most of it is discharged from the ice-making water tank 1 through the overflow pipe 22.

During the deicing cycle when the water valve 11 is open, the sub-tank cleaning container 3 is
Water is supplied into the sub-tank 6, and when it becomes full, the siphon 37 acts to cause the ice-making water to flow into the sub-tank 13, and this flow of ice-making water into the sub-tank 13 is repeated intermittently.

4 and 5 show another embodiment of the present invention, in which a cheese 39 is installed in the middle of a circulation pipe 9 that guides ice-making water in an ice-making water tank 1 to a first water sprinkling section 10 by a circulation pump 8. This cheese 39 and the sub-tank cleaning container 36 are connected via a connecting pipe 40. Subtank cleaning container 36
is connected to the sub tank 13 via a drain pipe 30. The water pipe 30 is connected to the lower part of the sub-tank 13, and the ice-making water flows through the drain pipe 30 to the sub-tank 13.
When flowing into the sub-tank 13, it flows along the bottom surface of the sub-tank 13.

In the automatic ice maker of the second embodiment configured as described above, a deicing detection device (not shown) detects the detachment of the ice 2 from the ice making plate 4, and a signal from the deicing detection device detects the detachment of the ice 2 from the ice making plate 4. When the water valve 11 and the hot gas valve 26 are closed and the circulation pump 8 is activated to start the ice-making cycle, ice-making water flows into the subtank cleaning container 36 through the circulation pipe 9, the cheese 39, and the connecting pipe 40. . Inside the sub-tank cleaning container 36, the siphon 37 operates every time the sub-tank cleaning container 36 becomes full of water, and ice-making water is intermittently supplied into the sub-tank 13, as in the first embodiment. At that time, sub tank 1
Since the ice-making water flows in along the bottom surface of the ice-making water, it is prevented that the ice-making water presses down the float 15 when it flows in, thereby preventing the float device 14 from issuing an erroneous signal that ice-making is complete.

During the ice-making cycle when the circulation pump 8 is operating, the sub-tank cleaning container 36 is
Water is supplied inside the building, and when it is full, the siphon 3
7 acts, ice-making water intermittently flows into the sub-tank 13, and each time the ice-making water in the sub-tank 13 containing impurities is pushed out through the drain pipe 30 into the ice-making water tank 1, and then the overflow pipe 22. Water is drained from the ice-making water tank 1.

Although both the first and second embodiments have been described with respect to a liquid level control device using a float 15, the present invention is not limited to this, and even a liquid level control device using an electrode rod may be used. good. Further, the shape of the siphon 37 may be an inverted U-shape.

g. Effects of the Invention As explained above, according to the present invention, the sub-tank cleaning container 36 is connected to the sub-tank 13 via the drain pipe 30 and is located above the liquid level in the ice-making water tank 1, and the sub-tank cleaning container 36
By being equipped with a siphon 37 provided in the ice-making water tank 1 for intermittently pushing out impurities that have settled and accumulated in the sub-tank 13 into the ice-making water tank 1,
Sedimentation and accumulation of impurities in the sub-tank 13 are removed, and the liquid level height in the ice-making water tank 1 is correctly detected by the liquid level control device.

Further, a large amount of ice-making water is intermittently flowed into the sub-tank 13 from the sub-tank cleaning container 36, and the ice-making water in the sub-tank 13 is efficiently pushed out into the ice-making water tank 1, so that impurities in the sub-tank 13 are Another effect is that the amount of ice-making water used to remove sedimentation and buildup can be kept low.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a sub-tank cleaning container showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of an automatic ice making machine in which the sub-tank washing container of Fig. 1 is used, and Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the sub-tank washing container shown in Fig. A cross-sectional view of the sub-tank 13 of
FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the sub-tank shown in FIG. 4, and FIG.
The figure is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a conventional automatic ice maker.
FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the sub-tank shown in FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram showing another example of a conventional automatic ice maker.
FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the branch pipe shown in FIG. 8, and FIG. 10 is a refrigeration circuit diagram of the automatic ice maker. 1...Ice making water tank, 2...Ice, 3...Ice making section, 13...Sub tank, 14...Float device, 30...Drain pipe, 36...Sub tank cleaning container, 37...Siphon. Note that the same reference numerals in each figure indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An ice-making water tank 1 that stores ice-making water supplied to an ice-making section 3 that produces ice 2, a sub-tank 13 that is in liquid communication with this ice-making water tank 1, and In an automatic ice making machine, the ice making water tank 1 is connected to the sub tank 13 via a drain pipe 30, and is equipped with a liquid level control device 14 for controlling the liquid level height in the ice making water tank 1.
a sub-tank cleaning container 36 located above the liquid level in the sub-tank cleaning container 36; and a siphon provided in the sub-tank cleaning container 36 for intermittently pushing out impurities that have settled and accumulated in the sub-tank 13 into the ice-making water tank 1. 37. An automatic ice making machine characterized by having: 2. The amount of water stored in the sub-tank cleaning container 36 is greater than the amount of water stored in the sub-tank 13.
Automatic ice maker as described in section. 3. The sub-tank cleaning container 36 is connected to a pipe 28, which sends ice making water to the ice making section 3 for deicing during the deicing cycle.
The automatic ice maker according to claim 1 or 2, which is connected to a connecting pipe 40 branched from 29. 4 The sub-tank cleaning container 36 is connected to a circulation pipe 9 that sends ice-making water to the ice-making section 3 for ice-making during the ice-making cycle.
The automatic ice maker according to claim 1 or 2, which is connected to a connecting pipe 40 branched from the ice maker.